J. Neely Johnson

John Neely Johnson (2 August 1825-31 August 1872) was Governor of California from 9 January 1856 to 8 January 1858, succeeding John Bigler and preceding John B. Weller. He was a member of the US Whig Party before later joining the Know Nothings.

Biography
John Neely Johnson was born in Gibson County, Indiana in 1825, and he moved to Iowa to work for a lawyer before moving to California in 1849 during the Gold Rush. Johnson briefly employed himself as a gold prospector, and later as a mule train driver. In 1852, he was elected to the California State Assembly from Sacramento as a member of the US Whig Party. In 1854, with the Whigs dissolving, Johnson joined the nativist Know Nothings, and he was elected Governor of California in 1855. At 30, Johnson was the youngest governor in California state history, and he planned to reduce government expenditures to cut the state debt. He also had to deal with the role of vigilantes in law enforcement in San Francisco, and he was later forced to revoke his proclamation on San Francisco's insurrection. His inability to deal with the vigilantes led to his loss in the gubernatorial election, and he later moved to the Utah Territory. He served as President of the Nevada Constitutional Convention, and he served on the Nevada Supreme Court from 1867 to 1871. Johnson died in 1872.